


Love, Honour and Protect

by Reene_Lou



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Greece, M/M, Mermaids, Poop and glitter, Romance, Tattoos, Unicorns, Weddings, Wiccans, mclahey - Freeform, sterek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-05
Updated: 2012-10-05
Packaged: 2017-11-15 16:24:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/529246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reene_Lou/pseuds/Reene_Lou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After they’re married Stiles lose his wedding ring more times than he can count…</p><p>Or the four times of note Stiles loses his wedding ring and the one time it remains lost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love, Honour and Protect

**Author's Note:**

> I suck at summaries, just read the damned thing.

After they’re married Stiles lose his wedding ring more times than he can count…

* * *

 

The first time they’re on the Greek island  _Mykonos_  on their honeymoon, they’re killing time after a late lunch and spend a few hours exploring the island before finally settling on the beach. Lounging against warm rocks, a soft breeze breaks the heat as they dip their feet into the water to cool off. Stiles’ is unusually quip free enjoying the silence, Derek sits beside him clasping his hand pressing small kisses against his fingers, his lips lingering on the physical reminder of their vows.

Stiles had chosen the island because of a certain flower that thrived in the climate; Deacon had told him it held certain protective qualities, which would make a useful addition to his collection. It hadn’t been especially hard to find as it was bright yellow and grew practically everywhere despite the dry landscape. If Deacon was the Giles to their little Scooby gang Stiles was definitely a watcher in training.

The silence is heavenly, away from tourists and tour guides, street markets and vendors shouting to promote their wares. Stiles groans aloud at the sight of group of swimmers a few feet away swimming in their direction, it’s not that he’s adopted Derek’s level of disinterest in human interaction it’s just he’s as well versed in Greek as Scott is in diplomacy and tact…

The breeze playing across the water shifts and Derek is up beside him sniffing in a bemused sort of way, “It’s just a group of people swimming, calm down you look like a meerkat” Stiles admonishes putting a hand on Derek’s forearm “look they’re going away-”

Stiles' is cut off as a hand wraps around his ankle, pulling him into the water in one quick jerking motion, his head collides with the rock and he exhales sharply his lungs deflating. He closes his eyes against the sting of the salt water; he can feel more hands clawing at his skin, pulling at his hair. Thrashing blindly he inhales a nose full of water the pain’s searing sending white sparks across his vision. He kicks legs flaying; trying to reach the surface, but whatever it is keeps dragging him down further and further until he feels like his lungs are going to explode. He can feel himself losing consciousness and has enough time to wonder what the fuck is taking Derek so long, hasn’t he earned being saved this one time against the hundreds he’s plucked him from the jaws of death?

He can feel something gripping his wrist, tearing at his fingers. He clenches his hand in an effort to stop the creature, because by now it had to be something supernatural, nothing human could maintain this level of strength under the water for this long. Thin spindly fingers pinch and pry at his own working to wrestle the ring from his digit, Stiles feels the ring slip from his finger and suddenly he’s released.

He’s being pulled upwards, breaking the surface in one smooth motion, Derek shoves him unceremoniously back onto the rocks before diving back into the water. Stiles splutters coughing and retching bringing up streams of watery vomit, his whole body is shaking, his teeth chattering not from the cold but from shock. He pulls himself further away from the water, a burning pain searing up through his esophagus is almost paralyzing.

“Derek” he croaks twisting round trying to find him before succumbing  to a coughing fit that would put even the worst of asthmatics to shame. Time seems to be passing at a snail’s pace and he can barely catch his breath, he can feel his heart beating a thousand miles a minute. How long had Derek been under the water? How many creatures were down there with him? And just what the hell were they?

 _“Please, please, please”_ he keeps repeating those words over and over in his head this unspoken mantra.

Finally Derek’s head breaks the surface and he’s swimming closer,  arms moving in sure strokes until he reaches the rock on which Stiles' is splayed, still panting trying to regain his breath. Stiles stares at him his heart stuttering, taking in the blood trickling from a split lip and the water running in rivulets down his tanned skin. It hits him like a punch to the stomach  _Jesus fucking Christ_ he almost lost him.

“Come here” He rasps lifting a hand to grip Derek’s jaw, pulling him closer, pressing his lips to Derek’s. Not so much a kiss but an act of reassurance, that he was indeed there and that whatever the hell just happened, they’d survived.

Derek’s hand comes up to meet his own, encircling his wrist and straightening it as he slides the thin gold band back onto Stiles' finger, “Fucking _mermaids_ , they’re as bad as magpies”

Stiles laughs abruptly, pain spearing his chest as he fights to stave off another coughing fit before giving in and kissing Derek ferociously with all the passion he can muster.

* * *

 

The second is genuinely not his fault!

Stiles’ is walking through the woods, Scott’s beside him practically skipping as he guides him deeper into the forest.

 “I’m telling you unicorns don’t exist! They’re fictional! As in imaginary, not real-” His protests die a sudden death as he’s confronted by the sight of Isaac astride a very real horse, that seemed to have a protrusion in the center of its forehead. Who the hell was he kidding Isaac was sitting on a fracking unicorn! Isaac grins broadly at him, waving with both hands mouthing  _OMG_  as he gestures to the creature between his legs.

“Holy steaming pile of fresh baked cookies” Stiles gasps, although what comes out of his mouth is a not exactly what he’d intended it’s somewhat similar. He turns to Scott his face painted with a mixture of confusion and outrage.

“Yeah about that Ed here is some sort of unicorn filter for cuss words” Scott reaches over to pat Ed on the flank but misses as the unicorn flinches away from his touch.

Isaac admonishes the Unicorn tutting “Hey Scott’s nice!” before slipping it another sugar cube anyway just for being so gosh darned adorable.

Stiles' brows furrow in a passable attempt at Derek’s what the hell is going on look; it has less of the scary wolf vibe he’d wished for, Stiles has considerably less eyebrow to work with than his beloved other half.

“You called the Unicorn Ed?” he intones dryly.

“Short for Edward” Isaac confirms “Cos he’s sparkly!”

Stiles struggles to maintain a straight face, “So Ed here doesn’t like you” he questions Scott his amusement evident before turning to Isaac.

“But you- he quite clearly likes you- I’m lost…” he drags the word out eyes squinty and nose wrinkled as his brain turns over every fact he knows about Unicorns which are unsurprisingly few.

Then it hits him and he’s ahhing and gasping before snapping his attention back on Isaac, who’s blushing deep enough that Stiles can feel the heat radiating off of him.

“You’re a virgin?” he questions incredulously.

“Hey, Isaac doesn’t have to defend his choice to anyone” Scott interrupts, causing Isaac to blush further if that were even possible.

“No, no it’s good I mean, hey I’m not judging” Stiles assures the both of them “If you guys are happy waiting, you know” He trails off staring at the Unicorn, an honest to god Unicorn.

“So can I-” he gestures towards the Unicorn and Isaac nods and he approaches slowly, knees bent his arms spread wide trying to appear as non-threatening as he possibly can. Surprisingly it works and he huffs a laugh as Scott grunts his annoyance. Everything’s going swimmingly for all of five seconds, he’s stroking the Unicorns muzzle as it sniffs his hand looking for something to eat, it slurps licking his fingers swallowing his wedding ring in the process.

“Fudsicle!, sweet merciful baby Jesus, fudsicle! You did not just swallow my wedding ring” He whips his hand back inspecting the slobber and the pale white mark where his ring used to sit. The goshdarned Unicorn swallowed it off of his finger…  

There’s a thump as Isaac falls sideways off of the Unicorn clutching his side in an effort to control his laughter, Scott isn’t far behind him gasping between giggles “I- guess- he doesn’t- like you- either”

Rest assured Unicorn poop is neither rainbow coloured nor  _sparkly_!

* * *

 

He takes to wearing it on a chain around his neck much to Derek’s chargrin.

That’s how he manages to conceal it from his kidnappers as he’s being tied and bound in some  _fucking_  warehouse in the shipping district.

He curses Scott for abandoning him to dance with Isaac; he curses Derek for being out of town on their anniversary. Stupid fucking Werewolves and their turf wars, Derek had spent the past week in Atlanta negotiating a treaty between two packs up there and now apparently things had taken a turn for the worse so much so that Stiles has found himself at the mercy of a coven of Wiccan mercenaries for hire.

He gets that they might not consider themselves evil, but offering spells to the highest bidder isn’t exactly the embodiment of the Wiccan code of ethics as he’d learned them.

He struggles against the restraints as they work around him, preparing various items and muttering incantations, he catches a glimpse of some of them recognizing few, opium and dogsbane both associated with indecision and deceit.

Just what the hell we’re they planning?

One of his kidnappers approaches an Athame clutched in one hand, a chalice in the other, Stiles pulls backwards stuttering “I’m not an expert but those aren’t supposed to draw blood!”

Kidnapper Steve as Stiles’ has dubbed him in his panic remains silent but dips the blade into the chalice before placing it against his cheek. Smearing whatever the hell was in the bowl against his skin, running the Athame down towards his collarbone he stops as the knife snags on the necklace holding Stiles' wedding ring.

Stiles hisses praying to all that’s holy  _please don’t take it, please don’t take it_.

His prayers go unanswered though as it’s torn roughly from his neck before being thrown into an honest to god freaking  _cauldron_! Whilst his Steve gleefully mutters about it being perfect for their spell, he hangs his head in despair someone out there is conspiring against him on this he will not be swayed.

Scott blusters in finally; swinging punches left right and center. He unties him swearing never to leave him alone in a club again! Stiles grumbles his thanks using his sleeve to rub the thick paste off of his cheek whilst walking over to the cauldron, it’s not bubbling over in a Disneyesque fashion but he daren’t put his hand in it instead he kicks it over and watches the contents spill over the concrete floor.

He manages to retrieve the ring but the chain is a lost cause.

* * *

 

The last time he doesn’t realize for quite a while, finally noticing its absence whilst getting a glass of water during his habitual 2am trip to the kitchen. He groans in despair trying to retrace his steps earlier in the day…

There hadn’t been any battles with  _mythological_  creatures or  _magical_  beings it’d been as regular a Sunday as they’d ever had.

He rubs his head in that quick jerking motion he always does when frustrated his gaze finally settling on the kitchen sink, Derek finds him two hours later soaked in drain water a pipe wrench in hand spitting and cursing as it drips onto his face and into his mouth.

“A little late for DIY” he quips squatting beside Stiles.

Stiles shrieks like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar before dinner before dinner dropping the wrench on his chest and grunting in pain.

“No, no, no! I do the quips you; you brood and remain silent like Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights” he slides out from under the sink, propping himself up against one of the cabinets.  

Derek smirks his amusement, “Did you just compare me to a man prone to domestic violence, kidnapping, possible murder and bouts of insanity? Nice.”

“Now that I think of it you’re maybe more of a Mr. Rochester type” Stiles corrects himself.

“So I have your permission to lock you in the attic when you get old and crazy?” Derek questions.

“Okay enough with the literary banter, Mr. smarty pants” Stiles huffs “I have somethingto confess” he stops then unsure how to reveal that in less than three years he’d managed to both lose and find his wedding ring more times than he could count. It seemed they were engaged in an ongoing battle of hide and seek, one it looked as though he might lose for the final time.

Derek’s upset more than pissed and it makes Stiles feel like the  _butthole_  in the relationship, a title Derek normally holds unchallenged, in the end it was the u-bend that defeated him in the struggle to keep the  _damned_  thing on his finger!

* * *

 

Finally reaching the shrewd conclusion that he may not be a jewelry person Stiles decides to opt for something a  _lot_  harder to remove and a little more permanent. After hours of research and multiple conversations with Erica, who aside from Derek was the only one in the pack with a tattoo, he narrows it down to a single design and whilst Stiles had always maintained his low tolerance for pain, he reasoned it would only be for an hour at the most it wasn’t like he was going for a Lucky Diamond Rich level of coverage.

Stiles yips in shock as the tattooist runs the cold razor over his left pectoral in preparation for the stencil that holds his design. After it’s applied and left to set the tattooist smears a small amount of Vaseline on his skin, she reassures him whilst hooking the needle into the gun that it’s more of an annoying pain rather than a full on  _ohmygod I’m dying_  kind of pain.

Stiles laughs nervously “So kinda like listening to your husband drone on about the differences between a 67’ Camero and 911 Porsche?”

“Similar” She laughs testing the gun with a sharp buzzing noise that caused Stiles stomach to clench in fear. Less than three quarters of an hour later he’s standing admiring the brilliant black of the ink against the pale whiteness of his skin. He’s grinning broadly, confident in his choice, a  _Triquetra_  similar in origin to Derek’s  _Triskelion._  

Each point believed to signify the three promises of a relationship,  _love_ ,  _honour_ , and  _protect_  completed with a circle to represent the everlasting bond between  them,  _unbreakable_  and  _eternal_.

* * *

 

He wouldn’t say he’s nervous but yeah he’s nervous, he’d liken the feeling to that of a blushing Isaac on his wedding night, of which Scott had confided in him in all its gory detail. Apparently it was both magical and earth shattering something he’d probably have been happy going to his grave not knowing, but Scott had the annoying tendency to overshare literally every aspect of his lovelife to anyone who’d listen.

Stiles stands in front of Derek shirtless, freaking out both internally and externally at his husbands lack of response, “It’s swollen I know! But I’ve been assured it won’t stay all blotchy and weird” he tries to read Derek as the silence grows “If you hate it just tell me, laser removal can’t be any more painful than the freaking tattoo wa-”

He’s cut off as Derek’s thumb brushes over the tender skin; he bites back a gasp of pain his eyes locked on Derek’s face as he watches his lips quirk into the rarest of smiles the ones reserved for Stiles and Stiles alone.

_“It’s beautiful”_

**Author's Note:**

> So this is based on a short fic I did a while ago [(x)](http://captainsourwolfandadderallboy.tumblr.com/post/31954504116/after-theyre-married-stiles-lose-his-wedding-ring)
> 
> For which I also did the crappy photoshop manip. 
> 
> You're more than welcome to follow me on tumblr where I do from time to time post my fics C: [Tumblr](http://captainsourwolfandadderallboy.tumblr.com) As always unbeta'd all mistakes are entirely my own leave your comments and tell me what you think.


End file.
